effects of sin

What do the Super Bowl and Groundhog Day have in common? Absolutely nothing. What do the Super Bowl and the movie, Groundhog Day, have in common? Quite a lot, especially if you are the Seattle Seahawks.

In a way, enlightenment has been a goal or achievement of both the Eastern and Western worldviews for quite some time. In Buddhism, starting with its founder in the fifth century B.C.E., individual enlightenment is a follower’s highest goal. “Buddha” means “awakened” or “enlightened one.” For the Buddhist, this means freeing oneself from the cycle…

Most people hate the dentist. Well, they detest seeing one. For me, I can say I’ve been genuinely upset enough of the times I’ve gone that the experience of squeaky-clean teeth after a bi-annual check up is ruined. Worst of all, I often find out crucial information about dental care or filling progression after the…

I have learned a lot about God from the Holocaust. This may sound unsettling, but I’ve come to feel that much can be learned in the crucible of that catastrophe of 40 years ago. The Founder of Jews for Jesus, Moishe Rosen, says…

Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) is a Jewish holy day that is supposed to deal with our shortcomings and get us right with God and each other. Kippur is literally “covering.” Which is interesting b/c apparently, the first thing people wanted to do about sin was cover up. Adam and Eve tried to design…

In Judaism we take on the issue of sin once a year at Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. We break away from the busyness of life and take a hard look at our transgressions and mistakes which we’ve committed throughout the year. We fast and go to synagogue and repent of our sins and…

This month Israel is celebrating 63 years as a modern state. Yom HaAtzma’ut” (Israel’s national Independence Day) falls on May 9. With so much unrest in the Middle East and all the uprisings various countries have experienced over the last several months, one can only hope and pray for Israel to be joined by emerging…

All were astir; the Gaon of Vilna was coming to Vaysechvoos! He would be staying in their modest village for one night on his way to Minsk. Who could have imagined that such a prince among Jews would want to visit this muddy little place?” marveled Lazar the Milkman. “Such a wise and holy man…

In His infinite wisdom, the eternal God marked time and counted the days as He created this world. He is not bound by time, but we, His creation, are. Think of the movies depicting prisoners locked away in solitary confinement or castaways stranded on a desert island. They always seem compelled to mark the days…

This Yom Kippur, for the relief of sin, YESHUA (JESUS) is indicated!” Yeshua—Jesus—is God’s remedy for the affliction of sin. The mitzvah (commandment) of afflicting one’s own soul can be helpful, but there is something even better. Isaiah the prophet says about the Messiah: “He was afflicted for our sins, he was bruised for our…

When I was a little boy, terrorism had a real name and a real face: Joey,* the neighborhood tough guy.” He would pick on anyone regardless of size or age, and to my six-year-old frame, Joey loomed larger than life. So it came as a real surprise to everyone—and most of all to me—that one…

When someone’s home is robbed, the victims often say they feel as though their house will never be the same again, as if the intruder has left a permanent scar upon a place once considered safe. Many of us felt that same sense of violation when our security and stability were violently stolen on September…

One of my favorite college assignments came in a Children’s Literature class at San Francisco State University, when my professor asked us to read 100 assorted story and picture books. I spent several delightful Saturday afternoons in the public library, enmeshed in the mischievous mishaps of Curious George and fearless little Miss Madeline. Those were…

We will camp here,” our scoutmaster told us, “by the lake.” Eagerly we set up camp by Lake Goshen in Virginia. I was 15 then and was with other experienced scouts. We should have known the still waters of Lake Goshen would be a perfect breeding ground for mosquitos. Throughout the night they attacked us…

Book Title: The Universe Is Broken—Who On Earth Can Fix It? Author: Moishe Rosen Date Published: 1991 Publisher: A Purple Pomegranate Pocket Book ISBN: 978-0961614881 Reviewer: Jews for Jesus Read this booklet online. This booklet is an attempt to grapple with some of the problems of everyday life, beginning with some hypothetical annoyances: Have you…

Steve was a good accountant, but it was hard to sit in front of a video display screen all day with nothing but numbers before his eyes. One day, when he was particularly tense and squinting, Steve stood up to take a break. He walked over to the water cooler—which was almost empty—and he tilted…

“Blessed art thou O Lord our God, King of the universe, who formest light and createst darkness, who makest peace and createst all things; Who in mercy givest light to the earth and to them that dwell thereon, and in thy goodness renewest the creation every day continually.…” (Hertz Prayer Book) If you’re over the…

Recently a dialogue was held at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School near Chicago between certain Jewish leaders and leaders of the evangelical Christian movement. Most of the meetings were conducted in closed sessions, but in one open session, an impassioned Jewish leader spoke to the issue of the Holocaust. His address was very moving, and in…